The Importance of Small Theatres

It is that time of year when peoples minds turn to panto, actors across the UK are rehearsing and crews are setting up the props, costumes and sets. Many will see that energy on the larger stages such as the Kings etc, but what about the small venues and local shows?

Small theatres be it a local church hall or a community centre put on shows of varying formats from the classic panto that we all know and love to kitchen sink dramas and musicals which can get overlooked.

These shows can be a huge part of the cultural landscape and offer a training ground for both cast and crew as well as a cost efficient way for people to experience stage shows that would otherwise be off their radar.

With many smaller venues closing or losing their funding it is important to support them by attending the shows and being part of that journey.

Cast and crew use these opportunities to build their cv, learn their craft and skillset and from experience, theatre skills such as time management or just being an extra pair of hands with the show when your starting out can be a Huge plus later in your career giving you a better sense of what the industry offers and allowing you a chance to Earn your craft and network. In broader terms am dram or even a pro show on a small scale can be a testing ground for yourself to see where you want to be in terms of your career path and offers in some cases a community based expansion of your network.

I have long endorses working in theatre in particular to makeup artists even if you are volunteering your time and energy you can learn a lot and it will benefit you in the future, the shows are well done and smaller venues offer different challenges that you will learn to overcome.

Taking the time to learn and be open to the options that are out there including those smaller venues can be a game changer and something I endorse.

Introducing The Livingstone Players

Founded in the 1960s, Livingstone Players is a staple of the festive season with their local panto held in the Stevenston Parish Church hall (formerly Livingstone Church) where they open up the doors to those with aspirations to being on stage or just the desire to be part of the community.

This year will see the group preform the classic Sleeping beauty for 6 shows including a matinee, such is the demand for their talents!

With the desire to create not just a fun family show but something to help creative talents and burgeoning stars, Livingstone Players is a welcome addition to any calendar and will be a roaring success with a stellar cast of characters and backstage talent supporting the show.

To learn more about the show or to learn about Livingstone Players see:

Sleeping Beauty Tickets.

Livingstone Players website.

Livingstone Players Facebook.

Taking Notes

The last month has really flown in with more than a few meetings by phone and the various emails that fly back and forward concerning the blog and planning out PR pieces for clients or just the general research we have to do for our in house work that we thought it would be good to talk about some of it on the creatives site.

Over the next few weeks we will be doing more pieces promoting stage shows such as Smoke Not Included (Headless acting) as they go to the Edinburgh Fringe and talking to actors and most interesting for us, an increased amount of work with the Sons of Adonis brand expanding their marketing and other elements that we are closely involved in. *Stay tuned to our Facebook page for updated guest blogs by JamesC on the Adonis website.

We are really excited about the work that we have lined up and will of course, be sharing as much as possible across the blog and our social networks.

Propshak Ayrshire

Located in the heart of Ayrshire, Propshak has become the go-to location for creative talent in props, fx and combined with their community focused training academy that is opening the doors to talent from all walks of life the propshak is the place to be and the place to be seen in the Scottish industry.

Working with some of the best and brightest in the media industry, the teams work can be seen across genres from theatre to film and TV with clients ranging from the BBC and Netflix to stage production, it is no surprise that they are fast becoming a force to be reckoned with in the industry and earning a reputation for their workshops that are giving opportunities to learn and hone artistic skills in the creative fields.

The workshops are designed to be about community accessibility with a fantastic team of staff and volunteers training the next generation prop makers and fx artists in everything from masks to moulds, and so much more.

Propshak offers services to meet the needs of the smallest to the largest productions and pride themselves on the quality of their work and commitment to industry standards.

To learn more about Propshak and their work see:

Propshak Website.

Propshak Instagram.

Propshak Facebook.

Propshak YouTube.

Talking Theatre With HeadlessActing

Theatre is a major part of the cultural scene and we are happy to talk to one of the people aiming to put Scottish talent on the map with a series of shows aimed at the stage and building on their own experiences in the field, from sourcing funding to casting, HeadlessActing is pushing the envelope of the creative arts.

Why don’t you start by introducing yourself and telling the lost audience what you do in the creative arts? 

My name is Brandon Ferguson and I’m an Actor and writer.  Recently, I created the production company ‘Headless Acting’ as a way to produce and perform some of my own  pieces of writing. Currently, HeadlessActing is working on two plays with a third being in early development.

You have been talking on social media about your recent Fringe show and plans to do more stage work from a Scottish perspective, can you tell us more about that? 

Yes, I have just finished my first ever run at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, I was playing ‘Peter’ in “Alba” which was written by Jack Byrne and Jordan Howat of ‘Action Theatre Scotland’. I had a wonderful time working on that. I’d never smiled more in my entire life, on the stage and off.

Once the Edinburgh Fringe was over I was just so eager to jump into something else, I decided it was time to create my own work. The Theatre industry in Scotland is dying a slow and painful death, whether that’s to do with ticket prices or even just that theatre is seen as “posh.” I wanted to fix that. I wanted to bring in a brand new audience, reach people who may never have stepped inside a theatre before. 

I had written a play about an event in Scottish history, but this play was a huge task. I would need a big team and a lot of funding. So,  I chose to start with something else, something smaller. So I wrote “*Smoke Not Included” which is a Stoner Comedy on the Stage. This play is one act, one location and four characters. What better way to bring in a new audience than putting on a stoner comedy haha.

Something we have noticed is you are very theatre focused with stage being a major part of your social media showcase, can you tell us what made this your focus as a creative? 

I’ve always been interested in theatre.  I never got to see much of it prior to being in high school, but I was always so entranced by the theatre. The sets and costumes, the actors! It’s magic! Buy a ticket, grab a drink and sit and enjoy the show. You might see a perfectly executed performance, you might see actors breaking character and causing everyone to laugh, you might even happen to see a story that touches you in a way a TV show or Movie never could. I like to say that theatre is just a live action book. When someone reads a book they can imagine what is happening and what the world may look like. Well, on the stage it is the exact same! The audience has a suspension of disbelief, you don’t need backdrops and a full room of sets. You just need the actors and a few important pieces of set or prop and the imagination of the audience does the rest. It’s great! 

“There’s also what I said before about the theatre industry in Scotland dying. I don’t think I could just stand back and watch that happen. I had to create. I had to try and show people that theatre isn’t scary, it isn’t too posh for you and it shouldn’t be too expensive.”

You recently talked about a crowdfunding campaign for your projects. Can you tell us more about the project and what is being planned?  Will you focus solely on theatre or expand into other areas of work? 

We are raising money for our first production, “*Smoke Not Included” , on Kickstarter, we still have a few hundred pounds left to raise. I couldn’t even describe this play to you if I tried, it’s quite silly, lighting and sound is used in a way to emphasise humour, there’s a lot of fun moments but at its heart, there’s a nugget of sadness. Neil, Jacko, Lauren and Aaron are our characters. They all have quite interesting relationships with each other. I won’t say too much haha. We’re currently casting for Aaron and Neil, submissions are open until 20th October. We are planning on going to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival next year as well as having a few performances in Fife. We also intend on filming the production and posting that on YouTube sometime after we finish doing the show. This is a way to combat theatre shows being short lived. We’re kind of immortalising it on YouTube haha. 

I do believe that HeadlessActing will remain working in theatre, but that’s not to say there isn’t a short film or two in the works.

What does the future hold for you and your team in media and creative terms?  What can we expect to see from you?

Currently HeadlessActing has a 4-Year plan. We aim to cast, rehearse and perform a show every year for the next four. We want to work with as many Scottish creatives that we can! I can’t say too much right now but we are working with a Scottish Artist and a Scottish Musician on one of our projects right now. We are also aiming to cover a wide range of genres. Starting with Comedy, then Horror, then History, Then Noir. If you’re following our Instagram (headless_acting) and our Twitter (@HeadlessActing) you’ll see we post updates all the time! Right now we are casting for *Smoke Not Included. We’ve received a lot of submissions and the self tapes are coming in now. We’re very excited for what the future holds.

To learn more about HeadlessActing or to support their work see:

*Smoke Not Included Crowdfunding Campaign.

HeadlessActing Instagram.

HeadlessActing Twitter.